Longitude (original) (raw)
TOPICS
Algebra Applied Mathematics Calculus and Analysis Discrete Mathematics Foundations of Mathematics Geometry History and Terminology Number Theory Probability and Statistics Recreational Mathematics Topology
Alphabetical Index New in MathWorld
The azimuthal coordinate on the surface of a sphere (
in spherical coordinates) or on a spheroid (in prolate or oblate spheroidal coordinates). Longitude is defined such that 
. Lines of constant longitude are generally called meridians. The other angular coordinate on the surface of a sphere is called the latitude.
The shortest distance between any two points on a sphere is the so-called great circle distance, which can be directly computed from the latitude and longitudes of two points.
See also
Great Circle, Latitude, Meridian, North Pole,Oblate Spheroidal Coordinates, Prolate Spheroidal Coordinates, South Pole, Sphere, Spherical Coordinates
Explore with Wolfram|Alpha
More things to try:
Cite this as:
Weisstein, Eric W. "Longitude." From MathWorld--A Wolfram Web Resource. https://mathworld.wolfram.com/Longitude.html